Bed rail



Nov. 5, 1968 A. E. HARRIS BED RAIL original Filed July 15. 1965 Sv NWwww e w/ Q A wm wmw@ m@ ,MM NNN NM @N QN .IHQN W #m www ww f kwmn woooooiz` .L g f WN V @ma QN QM. QN M QW @mi ,NNW N N \J%m\ ww Qwm wm NNWN W .\v NN, @ma QM mvYw Mm NWN. :5MM J m TN oeoeav F L Mw x Nm) r vH QNNm. ,NN C @Nv @v QW o I (Y 131,1 .w f\\ M 4 Unir-d Staf-S Paf-Onc-3,408,666 Patented Nov. y5, 1968 3,408,666 l BED RAIL Allan E. Harris,Winnetka, Ill., assiguor to Harris-Hub Company, Inc., a corporation ofIllinois Continuation of application Ser. No. 472,111, July 15, 1965.This application Feb. 15, 1967, Ser. No. 616,359

. 6 Claims. (Cl. 5--305) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A bed rail systemfor connecting together side rails ofl beds of different widths, whichsystem consists of strap members that are pivotally connected togetherand which contain at their lends'offset flanges `adapted to intert withbed side rails. .f

This application is a continuation of Allen E. Harris application Ser.No. 472,111, ytiled July'lS, 1965, 'now abandoned, and assigned to theassignee of thepresent invention.'

This invention relates to a universal bed rail assembly and moreparticularly to a universal transverse bed rail assembly that is easilyadaptable for `connecting together the side rails of beds of differentwidths. i

y -Beds long have been made with headboards and footb'oards connectedtogether by wooden side pieces, These wooden side boards are usuallyspanned by a plurality of wooden slats resting on ledges attached to theinnersurface of the side boards. The weight of the bedsprings andmattresses of such beds is borne by those wooden slats so a number ofthem, usually three, are needed to support the weight thereof.

' A common problem associated with such a bed construction is thetendency of the side boards to bow out,

inthe center and of the wooden slats to slide about and move arounduntil they fall off the ledges and drop to the floor, carrying thesprings and mattresses which they support along with them. Anotherditliculty often 4associated with wooden construction is the tendency ofthe side board ledges and the wood slats Vto, break or come loose fromthe side'boards, an occurrence particularly prevalent in the beds ofyoung'children of bouncing age.

i Metal slatless side rails have been developed which, because of theinherent strength of steel and the integral angle iron constructionutilized, counteract the 'problem of structural failure. However, sincebed frames constructed with these metal side rails are designed tosupport the springs or mattresses along the narrow horizontal ledge ofthe side rails without using any supporting transverse slats, the boxsprings or steel frame springs can readily drop off the ledges when theydeflect outwardly even a slight amount.

By the present invention, there is provided a transverse universal bedrail assembly which not only is capable of restraining outwarddeflection of metal side rails of a bed frame, but is capable ofconnecting together such side rails making up part of beds of differentsizes including those conventionally denoted as twin, double, queen andking size beds. The present transverse universal bed rail assembly isalso capable of being adjusted for use with a given size bed in whichthe separation between the side rails may vary by a small amount.

' Furthermore, the transverse bed rail assembly of the present inventionby its many adjustments is able to restrain deflection of bed side railswithout placing them under continuous tension or strain for any extendedtime.

Additionally, the instant assembly is provided with Y means by which itmay vreadily be attached and unattached from the metal side rails toallow for easy interchangeability when the width of the bed frame isexpanded or reduced for use with different size mattresses.

More specifically,lthe transverse bed rail yassembly of the present,invention is provided with` ai plurality .of metal straps pivotallyy-mounted one to the other. The straps are capable of assuming various.positions .relative to each other wherein the length of the entireassembly may be` adjusted so that an offset flange at either end of theassembly engages a slot in the horizontalledge of each side rail toconnect the two rails together.

One strap of the assembly, for example, may be used to connect togetherthe side rails making up a` narrow bed; twostraps pivotally mounted to.,each lother can be utilized alternately, depending upontheir--relativeposition to each other, to connect together-side railsfor at least two sizes of wider beds; and a thirdtstrap canzbeattachedto one of the first two straps and may be positioned to allowthe assemblyto attain a yet greater length which is sufficient toconnect together the side rails when they form part of a still widerbed.. t

Numerous other advantages and features of the present invention willbecome readily apparent from the following detailed description of theinvention and of one embodiment thereof, from the claims and from theaccompanying drawings in which each and every detail shown is fully andcompletely disclosed as a partof this specification, in which likenumerals lrefer to like parts, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of a bed frame including a numberof the transverse universal bed rail assemblies connecting together themetal side rails of the frame;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the three bed rail straps comprising oneembodiment of the assembly of the present invention with one strapconnecting together side tr ails making up part of the frame of a narrowor twin FIGURE 3 shows two of the straps pivotally connected togetherand having a length sufficient to connect the side rails of a double bedframe;

FIGURE 4 shows the two straps of FIGURE 3 reoriented whereby theassembly assumes a length suicient to connect together. the side railsof a queen size bed frame; f

FIGURE 5 shows the bed rail assembly of FIGURE 4 with a third strapconnected to the second strap and pivoted 180 to increase the length ofthe lassembly to connect together side rails of a king size bed frame;

FIGURE 6 is a side view of the bed rail of FIGURE 5 showing more clearlythe spacing between the straps, their offset flanges and how they engageslots in the horizontal ledges of the bed frame side rails;

FIGURE 7 is a view similar to FIGURE 4 but without a third strap beingsecured thereto; and

FIGURE 8 is an elevation view of the strap assembly illustrated inFIGURE 7.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, there is shown in FIGURE 1a bed frame 10 provided with a headrail or headboard 12 and a footrailor footboard 14 connected together in the usual manner by a pair of L-shaped metal side rails 16. The side rails 16 may be constructed fromangle iron and include a vertically upward extending flange portion 18and a horizontal ledge 20 extending towards the inside of the bed frame10 for supporting mattresses or springs making up the bed. The siderails 16 are connected together at a plurality of longitudinally spacedpoints by the universal bed rail assemblies 22 of the present invention.

As seen in FIGURE 2, when the side rails 16 are part of a twin bed framethey are connected together by a first bed rail strap 24 which isprovided with offset flanges 26, 28 at either end thereof. The twin sizestrap 24 has a plurality of apertures 30 located between its midpointand one end thereof. The strap `24 is connected to each side rail 16 bypassing the offset flange 26, 28 at each end down through a slot 32formed in the horizontal ledge 20 of the side rail 16. Thus, when thebed rail 22 is in position between two side rails 16, it passes betweenthe rails over the inner edge 34 of t'he ledge 20 down through the slot32 so that the offset portion 26, 28 lies beneath the horizontal ledgeof each side rail 16.

The first strap 24, however, is not long enough to connect together theside rails 16 when they form part of a wider or double bed frame. Thebed rail asembly 22 can be adapted for use in such a double bed frame bypivotal- 1y attaching one end of a second strap 36 to the original strap24. The attachment is made by passing suitable nut and bolt assembly 38through a hole 40 in one end of the second strap 36, through a spacer 42disposed between the straps 24, 36 and through one of the apertures 30in the first strap 24. The aperture selected is governed by the exactspacing between the side rails 16 which, for example, may be a functionof the attachment configuration of mechanism used to connect the siderails 16 to the headboard 12 and footboard 14. The free end of thesecond strap 36 is provided with an offset flange 44 for connection to aside rail 16 through a slot 32 in the ledge 20, as explained above.

Since the second strap 36 is pivotally attached to the first strap 24off center, it is clear that the assembly 22 is capable of assuming twodifferent configurations having different lengths. In the shorter of thetwo positions, as shown in FIGURE 3, the two straps 24, 36 are alignedso the second strap 36 overlaps a major portion of the first and theoffset flanges 28, 44 pass through slots 32. The two straps 24, 36 arekept spaced apart from each other by the spacer 42 and by the offsetflange 26 of the first strap 24 which rests on the surface of the secondstrap 36.

As seen in FIGURE 4, the assembly 22 may be easily adjusted so it canconnect together the side rails 16 forming a part of a queen size bed bymerely pivoting the straps 180 relative to each other so the offsetflanges 26, 44 pass through the slots 32. In this position, the secondstrap 3 6 overlaps the shorter portion of the first strap 24 and thelength of the assembly has been increased a suflicient amount for use ina queen size bed frame. A twopiece strap assembly capable of being usedfor double and queen size beds is shown specifically in FIGURES 7 and 8.

When the spacing between the side rails 16 is increased further, e.g.,when the rails make up part of a king size bed, the assembly 22 canstill be used to connect together the side rails 16. This isaccomplished by pivotally attaching a third small strap 46 to the secondstrap 36 at a point 48 adjacent to the offset flange 44 thereof. Whenused, this third strap 46 is pivoted 180 from an overlapping position onthe second strap 36, as shown in FIG- URES 3 and 4, to an extendedposition shown in FIG- URES 5 and 6, whereby the length of the assemblyis now increased an additional amount to allow the offset flanges 26, 50to reach the side rails 16 and thereby connect together the side railsforming part of a king size bed frame.

Thus, there has been provided a -universal transverse bed rail assemblywhich is capable of readily connecting together the metal side rails ofa bed frame to prevent outward deflection of the side rails from eachother; which is capable of easy adjustment to allow for use with varioussize bed structures; and which allows for minor variations within eachbed size.

Furthermore, the universal bed rail asembly is adaptable for use withall beds; may be transferred from one bed to another of different sizeby simply and easily changing its configuration. and can be readilyattached and unconnected `from the bed frame side rails when `de sired.

It should be understood that the use herein of the terms twin, double,queen size, and king size beds is merely illustrative and exemplary oft'he adaptability of the present invention. Clearly, the universal bedrail can be adapted for use with any number of different size beds.

It will be readily observed from the foregoing detailed description ofthe invention and in the illustrated embodiment thereof that numerousvariations and modifications'may be effected without departing from thetrue spirit and scope of the novel concepts and principles of thisinvention. Whatis claimed is:

l1. A universal bed rail assembly for connecting together bed side railscomprising two strap members pivotally attached to each other, one ofsaid strap members having means integral with at least one end thereofand the other of said strap members having means at both ends wherebythe strap members can be used to connect side rails of beds of differentwidths for preventing outward deflection thereof.

2. A universal bed rail assembly for connecting together Ibed side railscomprising a pluralityy of strap members including first, second, andthird strap members in which the first strap member is pivotallyconnected to the second strap member and the second strap member ispivotally connected to the third strap member, each of said strapmembers having means integral with at least one end thereof whereby thestrap members can be used to connect side rails of beds of differentwidths for preventing outward deflection thereof.

3. A strap assembly as set forth in claim 2 in which the` second strapis connected to the first strap at one of a plurality of off centerpositions and the third strap is connected to the second strap in endoverlapping relation thereto and the means for connecting to the siderails are located at one end of each of said second and third straps andon both ends of said first strap.

4. A universal bed rail assembly for holding together side rails of abed comprising in combination a first strap member having offset flangesat either end adapted to interconnect with the side rails, a secondstrap member having an offset flange at one end for connection to a siderail and pivotally attached at its other end to said first strap memberso said strap members can assume a first position relative to each otherwherein the second strap membei, overlaps more than one-half of saidfirst strap member, and a second position relative to each other whereinsaid second strap member overlaps less than one-half of said first strapmember, and a third strap member having `an offset flange at one end forconnection to a side rail and pivotally attached at its other end tosaid one end of said second strap member, whereby the bed rail assemblycan prevent outward deflection of bed frame side rails lbetween which itis connected.

5. In a bed frame having metal side rails, a universal bed rail assemblycapable of assuming various'sizes and configurations for connectingtogether the side rails to prevent outward deflection thereof,comprising in combination a first strap having offset flanges at eitherend for engaging slots provided in each side rail, a second strappositioned to overlap one end of said .first strap to increase thelength of said assembly and pivotally mounted at one end to said firststrap at an off center position and having an offset flange at its otherend for engaging one of the side rail slots, said straps pivotablethrough relative to each other to increase the length of the assembly anadditional amount when the second strap overlaps the other end of saidfirst strap, and a third strap having one end pivotally mounted to saidother end of said second strap and having an offset flange at its otherend for engaging one of the side rail slots.

6. A universal bed rail assembly for connecting together side rails of abed frame separated by a distance generally dened by the width of the-headboard and footboard to which the side rails are attached comprisingin combination a rst strap having offset flanges at both ends forconnection between the side rails attached to a twin `bed headboard andfootboard, a second strap overlapping one end of said first strap toincrease the length of said assembly and pivotally connected at one endto the rst strap at an off center position and having an oset ange atits other end to allow for connection of the two-strap assembly betweenthe side rails attached to a double bed headboard and footboard, said`second strap pivotable about said mounting position 180 to overlap theother end of said rst strap' to -f-urther increase the length of saidassembly for connection between side rails attached to queen sizeheadboard and footboard, and a third strap having an offset flange atone end and pivotal- References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 610,6989/1888 Zambusky 5-305 683,803 10/1901 Ruebusch 5-236 1,926,437 9/ 1933Fanders 5-305 3,118,151 1/1964 Fredrnan 5-238 BOBBY R. GAY, PrimaryExaminer.

RAYMOND D. KRAUS, Assistant Examiner.

